Sunday, March 31, 2013

During the day off, I visited the Blender Gallery, a quaint little shop house specializing in Rock & Roll photography, located at Elizabeth Street, Paddington (reminds me a lot of Notting Hill) somewhere outside the city. They held a special Springsteen exhibition in commemoration of the Oz tour, showcasing some of the most iconic photographs taken from the Darkness era onwards [link]. They were shot by Frank Stefanko, Lynn Goldsmith, and my favorite, Danny Clinch. I've seen most of the pictures before, but it's nothing like seeing them in the flesh, framed huge on the walls. Beautiful and awe-inspiring. I just love Sydney. Such a great city. I could see myself living there in the future.

For tonight's last Syd show, I was back in the same row as Night 1, but about ten seats further back. It didn't look like a completely sold-out show; there were lots of empty seats behind the stage, and the upper rear floors were curtained off. Tonight began even later than the previous two. "Sydney, are you ready to rumble??", Bruce exclaimed. As usual, many of those seated weren't ready. It was back to the 'standard' Wrecking Ball show opener, a 'rare' airing of We Take CareOf Our Own, which was actually pretty refreshing to hear. It was a kick-ass way to open the concert. Lovely lighting too. Though I was so hoping they opened with Land Of Hope And Dreams instead, which interestingly hasn't been making the rounds much down under. The winner of the third song 'curveball' went to Night. That also happened to be the third song from my very first show at Hyde Park '09. Welcome back! And as expected, the opening strains of Hungry Heart caused people to everyone to rise out of their seats. And we also witnessed a rare sight; Bruce downing a full cup of beer in a matter of seconds before surfing the crowd.

I can't get over My City Of Ruins. It's such a classic, with Bruce channeling some Sam Cooke, and I looked forward to it everytime. Tonight could very well be the last time I was hearing the song. As the spotlights shone on Danny's and Clarence's old spots, it suddenly hit me that both their loss affected me more than I could ever have imagined. I never got to see Danny, and only saw Clarence once. But they had a part to play in my being here tonight. Traveling thousands of miles (and over shark-infested waters!) just to be in the same room with Bruce Springsteen and the greatest live band in the world. I know it's only Rock & Roll, but it feels like love. Bruce honoring his fallen comrades every night will go down in history as one of the greatest watersheds moments in the life of the E Street Band.

Following City, I thought Bruce would do Spirit In The Night, but instead he spent a bit of time scouring the front of the pit for signs. And tonight, there were A LOT of signs. He took a couple and sieved through them. In the meantime I was praying that among those there would be a request for Downbound Train. He finally picked out one and showed it to the band. Growin' Up!! Yes!! I could tell there were lots of casual fans around where I was sitting, because they had no clue about the song. For me, it was already shaping up to be an epic night. Forty years ago his debut album was released. Ain't it a remarkable achievement? And Bruce is still, if not even more relevant today than ever; at 63 years old, he's in the prime of his life! Without even skipping a beat, they launched into The E Street Shuffle, with this time Bruce beginning with the guitar riff. Great to hear it again. Great to see the drum/percussion battle between Max and Everett Bradley. And of course the highlight of this performance were the killer horns.

Another sign request followed and I gasped when the big screen revealed Prove ItAll Night.....with the '78 intro!! This was only my sixth show, and I've gotten Prove It thrice already, two of which with the famed intro. Man, am I lucky. The intro was a bit different than the previous versions on this tour, and much longer than what we had in Manchester; Roy Bittan played some gorgeous piano before Bruce came in. And my God was he incredible on the guitar; this was the best I've ever seen him play. He instructed Max and Garry not to come in till much later. Nils filled in for Stevie on the supporting vocals on center mic. The performance was an absolute showstopper, and we weren't even halfway through yet. Next was Trapped, which surprisingly appeared to go over rather well with the crowd. Then, Bruce took another sign from the front, which had 'bucket list' written on it, and had two songs with check-boxes next to them...Thunder Road and The River. Third time hearing The River, more amazing each time, and again I must say, it's one of those that works best indoors with minimal lighting. Bruce did another funny rap about Australian asses, and then Pay Me My Money Down followed. Not even 90secs this time!

And it was time for a double-shot of BITUSA to keep the audience from sitting down again, with Working On The Highway and Darlington County (Bruce went back to the middle stage, with Nils joining him), and any hopes of getting Downbound Train were gone. Notice he had played an awful lot from that album these past few shows; after all it's the most well-known Springsteen record down under, even among the most casual. I got no problem with that. They are all great live songs. People were probably puzzled why he had not brought out the BIG one yet. More on that later. On a side note; as much as I would like Little Steven to be present at the shows (his integrability to the band can't be understated), I didn't really miss him that much. I thought Tom couldn't have done a better job temporarily filling in for him. Though there's less of that 'Little Steven-esque' interaction between him and Bruce, the E Street Band seemed to be more energized because of his presence. We should be glad we are getting these unique shows down under.

There was always an epic song to be played between Sunny Day and Tom Joad (Morello sicker than ever tonight). It had to happen sooner or later during one of these Oz shows, and I was so fucking overjoyed that it happened tonight. I've heard countless renditions of Backstreets on bootleg over the years, and I couldn't believe I was finally hearing it live for the first time. I had a slight heart attack when the first piano notes rang out. It was a flawless, devastating eight-minute performance. Right after Badlands, Bruce immediately went into Thunder Road, effectively ending the main set. My favorite song of all time, now and forever. Fourth time hearing it; tonight was just as transcendent as Manchester, minus the pouring rain.

At the start of the encore, Bruce said next time they promise they wouldn't take so long to come back down to Australia, resulting in huge cheers. Hell yeah!! I needed to hear him say that. Bruce then went on to say 'they don't play this next song that much.' My mind was quickly racing through his back catalog, but I drew a blank. What could it be? Drive All Night? Racing In The Street? After he told the monitor guys to make sure Roy was loud enough, I knew what it was........Born In The USA!!!! When the synth and snare hit, the crowd went totally apeshit. This was live rock music's chorus sing-along and fist pumping at their finest. I absolutely loved it. Bruce actually sang 'I'm forty years burning down the road'. Amen to that. It had the same immediacy and intensity as the classic version from the Live '75-'85 boxset. And it had nowhere to go next except straight into an electrifying Born To Run. Dancing In The Dark saw Bruce bringing up two ladies, one of whom was an American teenager I saw in the roll call line before the second show; she was filming some fan documentary.

If BITUSA started the encore, I just knew Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out was in no way gonna end the show and the three-night stand (also I noticed Bruce didn't do the E Street Band introduction at the end of 10th). If there's one sign request that was most commonly spotted over the three nights (and especially tonight), it was Rosalita. It bears some sort of sentimental value for Sydney fans, as this was the song that Bruce broke out during the 'power failure' show of 2003, as a reward to the crowd for sticking it out; it was considered rare at that point of The Rising tour, rare since Reunion-era in fact. And tonight, Rosie made her glorious return, and get this, exactly ten years to the date since the last Sydney show! It was pure stoke. The original showstopper. Jake Clemons has really proven himself to be a master saxophonist since the start of the tour a year ago; he blows like Big Man in his prime. It was another amazing setlist tonight, on par with Night 2, a nice blend of obscurities and hits to keep everyone satisfied. I also felt that tonight's performance was slightly better than Wednesday's, which is saying something, because Wednesday's performance was phenomenal and extraordinary almost to a point beyond human comprehension. Tonight however, the volume level sounded like it was turned up a few notches higher, resulting in one of the loudest shows I've ever heard in my life. Still, nothing beats watching the show from the front of the pit.

So.......there were 75 songs played in total during this three-night stand. 51 different songs were played, including 7 from Born To Run. The total duration was just over 9 hours. What more could you have asked for? The post E Street withdrawal symptom hasn't kicked in yet, as I'm still slowly winding down from the entire experience. I'm constantly relieving Nights two and three in my head, thanks to YouTube. Thank you, Bruce, thank you E Street Band, for an unforgettable week in Sydney. "We'll be seeing ya!"

We Take Care Of Our Own

Wrecking Ball

Night

Death To My Hometown

Hungry Heart

My City Of Ruins

Growin' Up

The E Street Shuffle

Prove It All Night

Trapped

The River

Pay Me My Money Down

Working On The Highway

Darlington County

Shackled And Drawn

Waitin' On A Sunny Day

Backstreets

The Ghost Of Tom Joad

Badlands

Thunder Road

Born In The U.S.A.

Born To Run

Dancing In The Dark

Tenth Avenue Freeze-out

Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)

At this time of writing, the Wrecking Ball Australian leg has just concluded. The last time Bruce and the band toured down under, Facebook wasn't even invented yet. The 2003 tour resulted in a financial disaster for the promoter. This time,
Frontier and Jacobsen took huge risks bringing them back, but the response was positively overwhelming, despite high ticket prices -- but then again for any Springsteen show, you get much more than what you pay for. Ten shows down the East Coast, spread across two and a half weeks. Over 150,000 tickets sold. Close to 80 different songs performed, with incredibly varied setlists each night. Ecstatic fans. Glowing reviews everywhere. Some of the best shows Bruce has ever played down under. I feel truly blessed to be part of something huge and historical. 'Til next time!

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P.S. After Sydney, I proceeded on to Perth.....yet again, this time for the West Coast Blues 'N' Roots Festival held at Fremantle Park. I generally hate festivals, but this lineup was too good to pass up [link]. Besides, I had a few days to spare before flying home. Caught nine bands in total, including Tedeschi Trucks Band, Chris Isaak, Jason Mraz, and a bit of Bonnie Raitt. Robert Plant and his new, world-music band were exceptionally good, but their performance (most of the acts in fact) was marred by the bad sound and really low volume level. I liked how they reinterpreted the Led Zep songs; wholly different from the originals. Iggy Pop and The Stooges were the final act on the first night, and they were insanely good. I was close to the stage and it was so awesome to see a bare-bodied Iggy in his late '60s still fit, prancing around and acting all weird. At one point during Fun House, he invited audience members to come and rock out onstage and things got out of control pretty fast; it was the craziest thing I ever saw. Sunday saw an ass-kicking blues set by Ben Harper, backed by his band Relentless7, and his new friend, the legendary harmonica master Charlie Musselwhite, who also sang on a few tunes. I only caught the first thirty minutes of Paul Simon's headlining set on the main stage. Would've stayed for the whole thing, if the organizers hadn't put Wilco at the same time on the other stage! Wilco only played for an hour (and to a very small audience), but they downright blew me away in a way I'd never expect. Hands down, they are one of the best live bands I've ever seen. Too bad this entire weekend was overshadowed by what went down this past week spent in Syd.

Friday, March 29, 2013

A day off between Nights 1 and 2 was probably a good thing for the band and the fans, especially those attending all three shows. Because personally, seeing Bruce and the band two nights in a row would've been too much to handle. Coming out of a Springsteen show will overwhelm the hell out of you, so much that it consumes a big part of your life for the next few weeks, months even, and it's all you ever think about. You wish you could relieve the experience over and over and over again -- Sydney No.2 was one of those where I wish I could turn back the clock. Manchester (22 June 2012) was the greatest show I've ever seen, until Wednesday, 20 March 2013, came along. It made Monday night seem like a rehearsal warm-up.

Doing GA this time round, I wanted to get as close as possible to the stage, but I didn't think I would end up that close....second row, in between Tom Morello and Garry Tallent. If only I'd brought a sign for Downbound Train! Of course, getting there involved lining up for more than four and a half hours, since 3pm. Only Springsteen fans would go to the extent of organizing special queues for the diehards. Basically what happens is you show up early in the day, say in the morning, you provide your name and get a number written on your arm by the organizer (I was no. 87), and then you can leave, but have to report back every few hours for a roll call, to make sure you're dead set on being right in front. This is unofficial, but it's recognized by the venue security and Springsteen's people, because it has been done and honored at literally every show in the past few years that involves first-come-first-serve GA, to ensure the most dedicated fans are upfront against the barrier. The cutoff may be at about 200 people, and these lucky ones get special priority wristbands, and are let into the arena floor 15mins earlier before the rest of the normal GA ticket holders. Thank God the Allphones security didn't allow sprinting to the front, if not it would've been chaotic. Speaking of which, the Allphones is the best concert arena I've had the pleasure of being in; easy to get merchandise, cold air-conditioning, spacious foyer, seats are comfy, friendly staff, and plenty of food and drink stands.

Anyway, it was nice to see a good mix of young and old fans in the pit. Lots of them brought signs. I spoke to a few diehard fans, some who were attending all ten Aussie shows, some who even came all the way from the States and Europe, and have been attending shows since the '80s; it was fun being among them, as I never ever get to meet anyone from my country who matches my level of Springsteen fandom. I wonder how many people from Singapore also traveled for these shows.

The show began fifteen minutes later than Monday night's. The band walked onstage in the dark, but without the usual Big Boss Man playing over the PA. Bruce came on last with an acoustic guitar and harmonica. I knew this wasn't gonna be your usual concert start. Devils & Dust was a bold move to open. But man, was it tremendous. Shit, I was only like twenty meters away from Bruce! The band then kicked into high gear with another unfamiliar tune to causal fans; Last To Die got its tour premiere, and it was the first off Magic to get played down under. The first two songs fittingly marked the tenth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. Then before I could even catch my breath came a BIG one in my book, The Ties That Bind, one that I've always wanted to hear but never seemed to get played often. Then even better, following that, was Darkness On The Edge Of Town, which sent chills down my spine. What a powerhouse performance. I knew then we were in for a special night. Bruce was singing much better than on Monday, despite him blowing the occasional snot rocket.

Out In The Street replaced Hungry Heart as the obligatory crowd-surfing song, and this time it was more enjoyable watching Bruce ride the sea of the hands from the pit than from the seats. Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street? was another showcase of the E Street dynamics that can only fully appreciated up-close. Man, I can't tell you how many thousand times better it was seeing the show from the pit. That half-day waiting in line was totally worth it after all. The sound was quite different from in the seats too; my only gripe was the bass was rather overpowering. The next portion of the set was in no way setlisted, as Bruce decided to have some fun, by taking sign request after sign request, nothing the band couldn't handle, thus relegating My City Of Ruins way down the set for the first time this tour (City may be too long-drawn for some, but I think it's an essential part to the narrative and the 'loss & renewal' themes of the show, just like Tenth Ave is). First up was The Promised Land, which he doesn't play that often now unlike last time [link]. During the last verse, Bruce walked over to our side. I was extremely close to him at one point, and I recalled for a brief moment at the end, we made eye contact. He gave his harp to the fella on the first row just two people to my right!

Then came a Born In The U.S.A. three-pack combo, a shit-hot Cover Me, which I never thought I'd hear. Even I'm On Fire was stunning. Because The Night was Nils Lofgren's turn to shine. I always love it when he does that spinning thing during the solo which makes the crowd go wild. To see his axe-wielding prowess so close, WOW. And he looked good in that new hat of his! The Seeger Sessions version of Open All Night blew Pay Me My Money Down out of the water. Quite similar to the Live In Dublin version, which I listened to religiously at one point in my life. Before going into it, Bruce did another monologue about Aussie audiences not standing up, and then he asked to turn up the house lights, after which he warned the seated crowd not to 'fucking stand up' just because the lights were on. It was hilarious! And how bout watching that cheesy but awesome E Street hoedown at the end of Shackled And Drawn? On Sunny Day, Bruce brought up a boy who couldn't really sing so well. And since the kid was wearing jeans, Bruce proceeded to sponge his knees for the power slide, which didn't exactly go as planned. Morello seemed more into Tom Joad tonight. He looked almost possessed as he went absolutely NUTS over his guitar. I'll never forget the moment right at the end of the song, when he turned around and let out this scream, like the spirit of the devil finally left his body or something. It was mighty intense. Again, you only get this up-close. And also to see Bruce's expressions during Tom's solo -- priceless.

Following the PSA about supporting the local food bank, Bruce finally unleashed THE monster, the biggest highlight of the show. My eyes started welling up during the opening intro to Jungleland. Soozie got it right with her violin this time. Morello did Stevie's solo, putting his own slight spin on it. You know that look Clarence gave right before his sax solo in the Live In NYC performance? I think Jake did the same too. I mean it when I say it was the most religious, out-of-body experience I've ever had. Time froze for that moment. Tears were streaming down my face. At the end, Jake looked up to the ceiling, and gave a big thanks to his uncle. It was in no way the definitive version, but it was sure as hell damn solid. And what better song to follow an epic than the always fantastic Born To Run. Finally got to witness the glory and the power of the greatest Rock & Roll song of all time from the one of the best spots in the arena! After that, I saw Bruce mouth the words to the band.....Bobby Jean. In fact, being within such close proximity to the stage, I noticed Bruce did it often, calling out audibles and stuff, keeping the band (and the crew) on their toes. Not all the time the message got through to everyone, and band members would relay it to one another, all within that few seconds before Bruce started counting off (Max Weinberg always has his eyes intently and intensely fixed on Bruce). Seriously, what other frontmen his age actually does that?

Finally, what sealed the deal for me was Detroit Medley, another rare one on this tour, and yet another one of those I've been dying to hear for a long, long time. In my opinion it's the greatest song the E Street Band has ever covered. I don't know what made Bruce want to play it, but it was heaps of fun. After the song was over, Nils sponged some water over Bruce's head. It was more of a necessity than a comic relief, but really, I thought Nils looked so much funnier (than Steve) doing it! And then to have Bruce stand on top of the grand piano during the Tenth Avenue intro just ten feet in front of us.... Tenth was earth shattering as usual, and another one I never get sick of hearing. Holy shit, what a show!! Tonight featured sixteen songs not played on Monday. I couldn't tell if the audience from the seats were better tonight, but the energy in the pit was off the charts. It was where I felt most at home. And what superhuman energy coming from Bruce! The Boss lives and breathes working the crowd and the stage. The connection he shares with the audience is unlike any other. I would've been pretty satisfied if this were the final Syd show. Because how do you recover from something like this? What have I just witnessed? I saw Neil Young & Crazy Horse from roughly the same distance two weeks before, but tonight's show takes the live concert performance into a whole new stratosphere. Everything else pales in comparison after seeing Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. Simply UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE.

Devils & Dust
Last To Die
The Ties That Bind
Darkness On The Edge Of Town
Wrecking Ball
Death To My Hometown
Out In The Street
Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?
The Promised Land
Cover Me
No Surrender
I'm On Fire
My City Of Ruins
High Hopes
Because The Night
Open All Night
Shackled And Drawn
Waitin' On A Sunny Day
Lonesome Day
The Ghost Of Tom Joad
Badlands

Jungleland
Born To Run
Bobby Jean
Dancing In The Dark
Detroit Medley
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

This is not gonna be another detailed song-by-song review, as I've already done so with the UK shows I attended last year. All one has to know is everytime you see Bruce Springsteen, you know you're gonna get the greatest show on earth. Period. He's got a huge backing band that has countless years of experience, able to cover the entire American and rock & soul songbook and beyond, and can switch on a dime. They aren't always perfect, yes they do have the occasional fuck-up, but they play so damn raw and loose it's absolutely intoxicating to watch. This was my fourth show, and my first indoor one. After this, I don't think I wanna go back to seeing them in stadiums again. Arenas are just so much more intimate. Plus, the sound is always better and louder. If Bruce can make a giant outdoor stadium feel like an arena, then in an arena he can make you feel like you're in a club. No matter where you're sitting, you feel like he's singing directly to you. I've not had that experience with any other performer; probably the only one that comes pretty close is Eddie Vedder.

The first show of the three-night stand in Sydney began unusually early, with a nod to Saint Patrick's Day; American Land has been rarely played on this tour. It was a rousing opener which led to something very cool, Prove It All Night. And then Bruce spotted a sign in front, and the band launched into a fierce Adam Raised A Cain, in which Tom Morello took his first solo. The E Street choir added a subtle but nice touch to the background vocals. By that point, any preconceived notions I had about the first show having a 'standard' setlist went out the door. We Take Care Of Our Own didn't make an appearance for the second night in a row, and after the usual two-punch of Wrecking Ball, Death To My Hometown (with Morello doing an extended solo at the end) came Hungry Heart, which basically made everyone get out of their seats for the first time. Shockingly, Australian audiences are a very soft, reserved bunch of people. They only stand up when absolutely necessary, unlike the UK crowds. I myself couldn't stand as everyone else was sitting down; it felt weird. Even then, doing fist pumping while no one else around was doing it also felt weird. It was during Hungry Heart where I witnessed the 'legendary' Bruce Springsteen crowd-surf for the first time, something that couldn't possibly be done in a stadium. It took almost two minutes for him to make it back to the stage from the middle of the floor through the relatively small pit.

My City Of Ruins sounded so much better in an indoor setting, as it needed a certain amount of darkness (lighting-wise) for the performance to be effective. Bruce made reference to the 'great power failure' of 2003, where the Sydney Cricket Ground show was plagued with many power outages. Something I've not seen before was the spotlights shone on stage right, where Danny and Clarence used to stand. Bruce kept singing the line, 'the change was made uptown', which was a real tear-jerking moment. The following Spirit In The Night featured a longer intro monologue, and then also that 'newly' added part where Bruce and Jake Clemons sat on the steps of the front stage. Next was a super obscure High Hopes, which, despite its intense high 'Seeger Sessions'-style energy, went over many heads. The second Morello moment came when he played with his teeth at one point. Candy's Room going right into She's The One was incredible. Pay Me My Money Down was my first Seeger Sessions song live, and this time Bruce had to address the tame crowd, saying beforehand that after 90secs, everyone's asses would start talking to them, telling them to get out of their seats. Nice 'method' to get people to stand up rather than just outright shouting to them. I'm not so crazy about the tune, but damn it sounded really good live, thanks to the 5-piece horn section and some crazy Charlie Giordano accordion.

Biggest Morello moment was obviously The Ghost Of Tom Joad. The solo he played was more or less the same as the very first time he played on the Magic Tour and many more since then. He got a standing ovation. Nothing else to say other than it was simply jaw-dropping. All those bootlegs and official live recordings don't do the performance justice. You just have to be there in person to experience the ferocity and brilliance of Tom Morello. I liked how this time Badlands ended the main set rather than usually opening it outdoors previously. The encore was a standard affair; no shake-ups. Born To Run had the houselights on and everyone standing once again. Dancing In The Dark segued into Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out pretty quickly, maybe because Steve Van Zandt was absent, thus bypassing the James Brown shtick. Bruce made his way back to the center platform once again. This time the Big Man tribute included some shots of Danny, which made the whole thing even more emotional. I watched the band a bit, as they waited for their cue to come in. Then I realized it was actually Max's snare shot that came in first. Jake Clemons was always looks up to the ceiling, saxophone close to his chest.

The show clocked in at 2hrs 45mins, rather short by Bruce's standards, and one of the shortest shows on this tour. But you have to admit, that's much longer than most mainstream acts today, and the band never once left the stage! It was still a wonderful gig nonetheless. I'm grateful to get the chance to see him again just a mere nine months after the last one in Manchester. And I'm glad for the many new and old Aussie fans who finally got to see the band after a ten-year hiatus from Oz. If this were my first Springsteen gig, it could very well have been the greatest one I've ever seen thus far. The show could've been much better though. It's just that there's this 'something' missing from it; that inexplicable thing that makes a show truly great and memorable. In other words, it wasn't an epic show. Could've been the tame crowd; the back-and-forth energy exchange between audience and band wasn't happening most of the time, except for the front of the pit. Could've been the fact that Bruce was under the weather; he was blowing snot rockets all night. But he looked and sounded pretty alright from my seat. If he was already mixing things up in Night 1, I was starting to get hyped up, as I walked out of the arena, for the exciting stuff Night 2 was gonna offer. "We'll be back Wednesday night for another SPECTACULAR!!", Bruce proclaimed at the end.

American Land
Prove It All Night
Adam Raised A Cain
Wrecking Ball
Death To My Hometown
Hungry Heart
My City Of Ruins
Spirit In The Night
High Hopes
Youngstown
Candy's Room
She's The One
Pay Me My Money Down
Shackled And Drawn
Waitin' On A Sunny Day
The Rising
The Ghost Of Tom Joad
Badlands

Thunder Road
Born To Run
Seven Nights To Rock
Dancing In The Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out